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To: ms.smartest.person who wrote (2059)	11/26/2001 2:05:58 AM
From: ms.smartest.person	Respond to of 2248

Cable discounts draw viewers but cut operators' revenues Monday, November 26, 2001 LORETTA LEUNG Monthly subscription rates for pay-television have declined in fast-growing Asian markets, where discounting has helped attract customers, according to an industry report. Pay-TV subscription numbers grew an estimated 14 per cent this year according to the Asia Cable and Satellite Guide 2002, published by Media Partners Asia (MPA) and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia. Cable TV would reach an estimated 165.6 million Asian homes by the end of this year - 34 per cent of households with TV sets. The drive to reach more subscribers had cut average revenue per user for operators in Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, however. "Cable subscribers in Korea have almost doubled this year because of large-scale operator consolidation but [average revenue per user] has fallen to US$10 per month this year from US$11 per month last year," MPA analyst Vivek Couto said. Hong Kong pay-TV operator i-Cable Communications has seen a 5.9 per cent dip in average revenue per user to HK$239 per month in the first half of this year. Subscriber growth also had come at a price for leading pay-TV operators in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand, which were burdened by high costs of programming as well as subscriber acquisition. MPA estimated Asian broadcasters would bring in revenues of US$1.4 billion, or 15 per cent, of worldwide subscription income. Mr Couto said broadcasters remained unhappy about subscription fees in some Asian markets. The international norm for subscription revenues split between the operators and broadcasters was 65:35, he said. "But in India, China, Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines, broadcasters get between zero and 14 per cent [of the total subscription revenue]," he said. Piracy and subscriber under-reporting also were problems. biz.scmp.com